Major Psychology (54 credits)

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Offered by: Psychology
Degree: Bachelor of Science

Program Requirements

Students majoring in Psychology must obtain a minimum grade of C in all 54 credits of the program. A grade lower than C may be made up by taking another equivalent course (if there is one), by successfully repeating the course, or by successfully writing a supplemental examination (if there is one).

Recommended Background

It is expected that most students who enter the Major program in Psychology will have taken introductory psychology, biology, and statistics at the collegial level. Recommended CEGEP courses include Psychology 350-101 or 350-102 or equivalent; Biology CEGEP objective 00UK, 00XU or equivalent; and Statistics (Mathematics) 201-307 or 201-337 or equivalent. Students must obtain a minimum grade of 75% in their CEGEP-level statistics course. In the first year those students who have not taken the recommended collegial-level statistics course, or those who have obtained a grade below 75%, must take Psychology PSYC 204. Those who have not taken the recommended collegial-level biology must take BIOL 111 or BIOL 112, and those who have not taken Introductory Psychology in college must take PSYC 100.

U1 Required Courses (12 credits)

Note: PSYC 100 may be taken as a corequisite with these basic courses.

Overview

Psychology : An introduction to contemporary research on the relationship between brain and behaviour. Topics include learning, memory and cognition, brain damage and neuroplasticity, emotion and motivation, and drug addiction and brain reward circuits. Much of the evidence will be drawn from the experimental literature on research with animals.

Overview

Psychology : Where do thoughts come from? What is the nature of thought, and how does it arise in the mind and the brain? Cognition is the study of human information
processing, and we will explore topics such as memory, attention, categorization, decision making, intelligence, philosophy of mind, and the mind-as computer
metaphor.

Overview

Psychology : The course offers students an overview of the major topics in social psychology. Three levels of analysis are explored beginning with individual processes (e.g., attitudes, attribution), then interpersonal processes (e.g., attraction, communication, love) and finally social influence processes (e.g., conformity, norms, roles, reference groups).

This course is required of all students who propose to enter an Honours or Major program in Psychology

You may not be able to receive credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar.

Complementary Courses (39 credits)

List A

6 credits in Psychology from List A (Behavioural Neuroscience, Cognition and Quantitative Methods).

Overview

Psychology : Contemporary and historical research and theory on animal learning approached from a behavioural, cognitive and biological perspective. Classical and instrumental conditioning, cognitive learning, and biological constraints. The status and history of North American behaviourism will be discussed and compared with cognitive and other approaches.

Overview

Psychology : An introduction to pain research and theory, with emphasis on the interactions of psychological, cultural and physiological factors in pain perception. The role of these factors in clinical pain and its management by pharmacological and non-pharmacological means will be discussed.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : Introduction to the evolution and assessment of intelligence. Emphasizes measurement and correlates of the human intellect and the role of environment and heredity in social and race differences in intellectual and adaptive functioning. Evolution of intelligence in vertebrates and other intelligences including practical and emotional intelligence will be covered.

Overview

Psychology : The course is an introduction to the field studying how human cognitive processes, such as perception, attention, language, learning and memory, planning and organization, are related to brain processes. The material covered is primarily based on studies of the effects of different brain lesions on cognition and studies of brain activity in relation to cognitive processes with modern functional neuroimaging methods.

Overview

Psychology : A survey of issues in psycholinguistics, focusing on the nature and processing of language (e.g., how we understand speech sounds, words, sentences, and discourse). Also surveyed: language and thought, the biological foundations of language, and first language acquisition.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : This course will examine issues in bilingualism, including second language acquisition in children and adults, critical period hypothesis, cognitive consequences and correlates of bilingualism, social psychological aspects of bilingualism, and bilingual education.

Terms: Winter 2018

Instructors: Debra Ann Titone (Winter)

Winter

2 lectures

Prerequisites: Introductory Psychology, and PSYC 340 or introduction to linguistics; or permission of instructor

Overview

Psychology : In-depth exploration of cognitive development in infants and children including knowledge representation and processing, conceptual development, language development, and theories and principles of cognitive development.

Overview

Psychology : The multi-disciplinary study of cognitive science, exploring the computer metaphor of the mind as an information-processing system. Focus on levels of analysis, symbolic modeling, Turing machines, neural networks, as applied to topics such as reasoning, vision, decision-making, and consciousness.

Overview

Psychology : This course covers basic biological mechanisms, possible functions and behavioural aspects of sleep. Additional topics include: disorders of sleep, their effects on behaviour and cognition, and treatment approaches; as well as medical, neurological and psychiatric disorders, and drugs, that affect sleep.

Overview

Psychology : The application of psychology to the analysis and design of systems and products to increase efficiency and reduce the probability and risk of human error. Topics include: workload and vigilance, control-display relationships, task analysis, and workstation design.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : Memory systems are studied with an emphasis on the neural computations that occur at various stages of the processing stream, focusing on the hippocampus, amygdala, basal ganglia, cerebellum and cortex. The data reviewed is obtained from human, non-human primates and rodents, with single unit recording, neuroimaging and brain damaged subjects.

Overview

Psychology : Neuroendocrinological mechanisms of action that underlie specific behaviors and their disorders. Hormones and cognitive functioning, sexual functioning, aggression, mood and stress in humans and will focus on methods of hypothesis-testing in these areas.

Overview

Psychology : An introduction to cognitive properties and neural mechanisms of human attention. The material will include an overview of the history of attention research, contemporary theories of attention, the varieties of attention, behavioral and neuroimaging experimental methods, the nature of attentional dysfunctions, and the links between attention and other cognitive functions including memory and consciousness.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : Interdisciplinary study of decision-making, covering contemporary approaches to understanding how humans compute values and make choices. Measurement of and techniques for assessing variables such as risk and uncertainty, utilities and preferences, reinforcement learning, heuristics and biases, and self-control. Emphasis on quantitative models of decision-making.

Terms: Fall 2017

Instructors: Anthony Otto (Fall)

Prerequisite(s): PSYC 212 or PSYC 213 and U3 standing; or permission of instructor

Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken PSYC 562 in Winter 2017.

Overview

Psychology : Properties of nerve cells that are responsible for learning and memory. Recent advances in the understanding of neurophysiological, biochemical and structural processes relevant to neural plasticity. Emphasis on a few selected model systems involving both vertebrate and invertebrate animals.

Overview

Psychology : Anatomical, biochemical and physiological aspects of neurotransmitter systems in the brain, current theories of the function of these systems in normal and abnormal behaviour, and the actions of psychotropic drugs.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : We examine in detail the structure of the visual system, and its function as reflected in the perceptual abilities and behaviour of the organism. Parallels are also drawn with other sensory systems to demonstrate general principles of sensory coding.

Overview

Psychology : The course introduces basic concepts underlying structural equation models (SEM). SEM, which combine regression analysis and factor analysis, are quite useful and are currently very popular in analyzing data that arise in social, developmental and clinical psychology. The students are expected to get first-hand experiences in fitting SEM, and learn how to interpret and report the results from SEM.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : The statistical analysis of relations among a number of variables in situations common in psychology, ecology, and other fields. Methods include regression analysis, principal components analysis, and other techniques for modelling the structure of correlation matrices.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : The main challenges that cognitive science faces today, focusing on the capacity to learn sensorimotor categories, to name and describe them verbally, and to transmit them to others, concluding with cognition distributed on the Web.

Terms: Winter 2018

Instructors: Stevan Harnad (Winter)

Prerequisite(s): Student must have completed a 300 level course in one of the following: Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, Computer Science, or Neuroscience.

Overview

Psychology : The properties of measurements and techniques for the measurement of psychophysical variables such as brightness and loudness and of attitudinal variables such as similarity, preference, and utility. Data analysis tools of value to experimenters. Emphasis on current problems in experimental psychology.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : Basic introduction to the field of deafness from a psychological perspective. Topics include effect of deafness on sensory, perceptual, cognitive, intellectual and linguistic processes. Impact of deafness on children and families.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : The course focuses on the social psychology of societal groups such as racial minorities, aboriginal groups and women. The ideological biases of current theories is first established. This is followed by a review of current theories and finally current controversies are explored including new forms of racism and affirmative action.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : This course examines some of the major theories of personality, e.g., those of Freud, Rogers, and Bandura. Empirical research inspired by these theories will also be examined. Topics include the nature of human motivation, the role of the self-concept, and the consistency and stability of personality.

Overview

Psychology : The course builds on and is an extension of Social Psychology (PSYC 215). Traditional approaches to person-situation interactions and a more dynamic approach based on recent research on goals and social cognition.

Overview

Psychology : Designed to introduce students to the issues, strategies, and applications of various research methodologies in social psychology. Through demonstrations, exercises, and pilot studies, students will gain experience with lab and field methods using both correlational and experimental procedures. Classic and contemporary approaches will be examined.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : An introduction to the theory, research and practice of cognitive behaviour therapy. The experimental approach to understanding human behaviour is used to follow basic principles of learning and their clinical application. Certain psychiatric disorders such as alcoholism and depression are highlighted to illustrate how a behaviour therapist conceptualizes problems and formulates treatments.

Overview

Psychology : Introduction to the field of behavior disorders of childhood and adolescence, including core issues, theoretical and methodological underpinnings, descriptions and discussions of many disorders, clinical and research data, and treatment approaches. Three major assumptions will be woven through the course.

Overview

Psychology : Advanced study of the development of social behaviour and social cognition in children. Topics include: socialization, attachment, aggression, exploration, role taking, communication, family and peer relations, self and person perception. The development of these social processes within the framework of three general theories of development: behaviour genetics, learning, and cognitive-developmental.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : This course will deal with typical sexual behavior and its variations. Topics will include the history of sex research, the sexual response cycle, sexual dysfunction, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. Current research and theory will be emphasized.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : The course is designed to explore questions such as "Why do people often fail to reach their personal goals?" Current goal-based and need-based theories of human motivation will be reviewed. The instructor will highlight the relevance of motivation research to the domains of education, sports and management.

Overview

Psychology : This course examines the social psychological literature emphasizing a) social cognition - how people think about and make sense of their social experiences; and b) self theory - how people create and maintain a sense of identity. These frameworks will be applied to social psychological topics including close relationships, attitudes and self-esteem.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : Psychological science approach to interpersonal relationships. Organized in terms of the development of relationships, focusing first on impression formation as a platform for the development of relationships. Then we focus on close relationships, examining interpersonal constructs (intimacy, trust, commitment) and reconsidering social cognitive constructs (attributions, schemas) in an interpersonal context.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : A critical examination of topics in abnormal and clinical psychology. Emphasis will be on analysis of theoretical positions and empirical findings as they relate to both etiology and treatment.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

1-2 hours lecture or tutorial per week plus a field experience requirement

Overview

Psychology : Poverty is a significant risk factor for psychological disorder. In this class, we will examine critically research focused on this association, with an emphasis on (a) mechanisms underlying the link between poverty and psychopathology, and (b) development and dissemination of evidence-based treatments for individuals living in poverty. Particular attention will be paid to the research methodologies used to address these questions.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Restriction: Restricted to graduate students in Psychology and to U3 students enrolled in one of the following programs: BSc; Major in Psychology, BSc; Honours in Psychology, BA; Major Concentration in Psychology, BA; Honours in Psychology, BA; Joint Honours - Psychology Component, or by permission of the instructor.

Overview

Psychology : Advanced topics in personality. Focus on power, status, and dominance and how these are manifested in social behavior. Dominance in nonhuman species, biological substrates of dominance, relations of status and dominance to social cognition, affect, and health; gender, role and cultural influences on dominance.

Overview

Psychology : This course will examine in depth cognitive, behavioral, biological, and developmental psychopathology models of the etiology of depression and anxiety. Within each theoretical perspective, core issues, theoretical and methodological underpinnings, and research data will be examined.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : The focus will be on health and illness in developing countries, in particular, on health problems (malnutrition, alcohol abuse, mental illness, family planning, and HIV) where psychosocial factors play a large role in the problem and the solution. Attempted solutions based on community participation, health education, non-governmental and international agencies will be discussed.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Overview

Psychology : Classic and contemporary readings in a specific content area within social psychology will be assigned in order to examine the sub-area in depth. The focus will vary depending upon the specialty area of the instructor. These areas include interpersonal relationships, intergroup relations, the self, and social cognition.